Persona 3 Portable Reviews
It was 2006's game of the year for a reason, and though this version is still missing something, it's great to have such an essential game made easily available again.
While Persona 3 Portable’s monotonous slog through Tartarus might not have aged all that well, its narrative, characters, and soundtrack most certainly have. It’s great to finally experience the roots of the Persona franchise and the birth of the Social Link on Xbox.
Persona 3 Portable remains the definitive version of Persona 3, albeit a relic of Persona's past. Compared to the star quality of the entire Persona 5 series, I can see a world where a newer Persona player may be confused about the lack of animated cutscenes, a battle system that is focused around solely controlling the main character by default, a point-and-click-esque navigation system outside of dungeon-crawling, and a forgiving-but-still-simple Social Link system. I can also see a world where veterans may be expecting a remaster that incorporates the media from Persona 3 into the skeleton of Persona 3 Portable, breathing new life and character into a classic RPG. Looking past these quibbles, Persona 3 Portable remains a stellar JRPG, and it looks, sounds, and plays better than I remembered.
Persona 3 Portable creates a compelling story and interweaves global danger with the importance of building up friendships around you. Portable brings with it some good enhancements even if it's not the 'perfect' way to play it. The Tartarus mega-dungeon however wears out its welcome quickly as you tediously climb.
Persona 3 Portable was a gem when it came to the PlayStation Portable nearly thirteen years ago, but it was very much meant for the hardware of its time.
Persona 3 Portable is a must-play for ALL RPG fans, and with its inclusion on Xbox Game Pass, a MUST try for all gamers.
Don't just be dazzled by the golden shine of the best game in the PSP game library: our only advice is to play Persona 3 Portable before Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal, which are both superior to it by several spans. Only by doing so you can appreciate, despite some limitations too derived from the portable nature of the original output, the writing, the characters, the combat system, the longevity, the soundtrack. All these merits would come out in any case, of course, but the overflowing quality of the two subsequent titles, brought to Switch in more inviting formats for the new generations, could partially obscure what is good in this third episode, a real watershed for the franchise and the founding basis of all the Persona who will come.
Review in Italian | Read full review
It might sound like I'm being negative about Persona 3, but I'm not. It's a lot of fun, and it has a lot of interesting strengths. It has the misfortune of being the first game in a franchise where the sequels improved on a ton of features and were released before it on the PC. If you've never played it, it's well worth a shot. It's still a great game, but it has aged more than its sequels. Despite that, it still does some things superbly well. The addition of an entire second playable story path and a bunch of new social links also makes it a worthwhile experience for those who played the original release but not the portable version.
It packs a healthy amount of content into its lengthy runtime, and if the combination of school life sim and dungeon crawler strikes you, there's little reason not to dive right in. It's worth considering that P3P does feel a fair bit darker in tone and theme, complete with characters needing to shoot themselves in the head to summon their personas. For those who first played the game on PSP or Vita, the visuals and performance have received a noticeable boost over the original version, in addition to now being able to quick save your progress at any time. The update doesn't reinvent the wheel, but added quality of life features definitely make this the ideal way to play Persona 3 Portable.
A blast from the past, Persona 3 Portable returns to the scene after thirteen years. With a few outdated quirks directly imported from the PSP rerelease, it's still a very fun game, although it might not be up to the standards of players that had Persona 5 Royal as their first foray into the series.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
I wouldn't be lying if I called the PC version of Persona 3 Portable "an upscaled version of the original game". But that doesn't change the fact that Persona 3 Portable is a great game and I would blindly recommend it to anyone who hasn't played it.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Persona 3 Portable has survived well and is still as enjoyable as it has always been. Of course, Atlus could have used the chance to animate some extra cutscenes for this port, but the lack thereof doesn't take away from the overall game. For anyone new to Persona, this is a must, and for anyone wanting to relive this infamous title, welcome back!
Persona 3 Portable ages like fine wine as an excellent JRPG that caters to handheld play sessions on Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck. The game's iconic style, incredible story, humorous cast, and emotional moments are beautifully remastered for modern platforms. The remaster's new features and quality of life improvements make this version the best way to play Persona 3 right away.
Persona 3 Portable lays out the blueprint for later entries and while a bit rough around the edges, features a brilliant setting, roster of characters, and one heck of an ending.
Persona 3 Portable remains an interesting adaptation of Persona 3, with its visual novel approach to daily life, and it's a joy to play on the Switch.
P3P is still a terrific remake from a bygone era and a gold standard in handheld JRPGs on the Switch.
For Xbox players, Persona 3 Portable is an amazing game. And despite this version’s flaws, I implore you to give it a go.
With an amazing story, great characters to bond with, and an extraordinary turn-based battle system, Persona 3 not only created fertile ground for the subsequent releases, but is back to captivate newcomers.
The few improvements made to Persona 3 Portable cannot begin to make up for how half-hearted this remastering effort feels otherwise. Shoddily redone audiovisual aspects compromise its atmosphere and painstakingly crafted emotional beats. Things that should have been improved simply weren’t. I implore you to play Persona 3 if you haven’t already, it’s one of the most fulfilling and characterful JRPGs ever made. However, don’t make this disappointing version your first experience.
Persona 3 Portable is a complicated experience. On one hand, its core gameplay loop is at times frustratingly tedious and the plot goes nowhere for several months of the in-game calendar. On the other though, Persona 3 Portable is an emotional stroke of genius by the time it reaches its final act, executing a beautifully poignant narrative using consistent atmospheric world-building and an overall solid cast of characters to hammer home difficult themes of loss, grief and the inevitability of death. As a story about making the most of the time we have on Earth while we still can, Persona 3 Portable is a staggering achievement, but its flaws remain significant and numerous as this re-release is almost completely unchanged from its prior versions.